3-D/4-D ultrasound

Will your baby have Mommy's eyes or Daddy's nose? Now you can find out long before the baby is born. Grant Regional Health Center now offers exciting technology to provide expecting parents a peek at what their child will look like. During your ultrasound visit, we can capture detailed 3-D and 4-D images of your unborn baby.

Shorthand for four-dimensional, "4-D" includes the dimension of time. As far as ultrasound is concerned, 4-D is the latest technology. It takes 3-D ultrasound images and adds the element of time to the process. This allows you to see your unborn baby in amazing real-time detail.

Four-dimensional imaging depends on the baby's position, size and movement, maternal tissue, and amount of amniotic fluid, so there is no guaranteed level of image quality. For twins, the best time for a 4-D ultrasound is before 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Is this safe?

Ultrasound has been used safely in obstetrics for more than 35 years. In this time, there has been no evidence of ultrasound ever having harmful effects. Many women have multiple ultrasounds during their pregnancies with no negative effects on the baby. Women who are having trouble with pregnancy may have as many as two or three ultrasounds a week late in the third trimester.